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Feb 23

Fitness Matters: Paddle boarding is the newest fitness craze

Fitness Comments Off on Fitness Matters: Paddle boarding is the newest fitness craze

I recently had a chance to try one of the newest fitness craze/sports on the water in Florida, paddle boarding.

In this particular area, you could either rent a board or take classes that vary from cardiovascular focused, to body sculpting or yoga style.

The paddle board workout combines a mixture of balance, upper and lower body strength, as well as cardiovascular conditioning while standing on a long board approximately 10 ½ - 11 ½ feet long.

Water and wind conditions determine how difficult the workout is, but it is a great experience no matter what.

If you have an instructor, they will walk you through the experience and teach you proper technique while maintaining stability on your board.

If you are choosing your own board, the longer the board, the easier the workout. Length of the board is determined by your weight, experience and whether you will be on flat water, waves, touring, yoga practice or just recreational fun.

We used a 10-foot, 11-inch long and 32-inch board across, and Ihave to admit that I fell off a couple times.

The fact that we were in the mangroves off the western coast of Florida, where there may be more natural habitat than I care to know about was incentive to stay out of the water.

We paddled from shore, on a fairly windy day, and really had to focus on balance and forward movement so we could get to the area where there would be no wind and we could work on stabilization moves.

Movement through the water is with a long paddle, using muscles in the upper body and core. For those less stable, kneeling on the board was a good option, but for a real physical challenge, standing and paddling was an awesome workout.

As we arrived at our location for the actual workout, I put my anchor down (which was placed on the back of my board), but mis judged my weight as I moved toward the back end of my board and totally lost balance.

Cool and refreshing, yes, but the fear of snakes in the mangrove freaked me out. You learn to move swiftly and get right back to the workout.

The workout was about an hour, but seemed to go by quickly. It was a great experience to incorporate some traditional moves on an unstable surface that demanded some focus.

It may seem ridiculous to even bring up such a sport in the middle of winter in Minnesota, but spring is just around the corner.

Preparing for a new summer sport can be even better when you have the strength, balance  and coordination to hop right into it when the time comes. Whether you live near a lake, spend weekends camping, or traveling to water, you can begin preparing your body for summer recreation.

Multi-joint exercises that are functional in benefiting sports such as paddle boarding, rowing, surfing and golf include weighted squats or single-leg squats, reverse lunge with a twist, single leg leg-press and stiff-legged deadlift.

Core and upper body moves that support these sports include bicycle crunch, hanging leg raise, clean and press, dumbbell row, Russian twists and tricep extensions.

Research suggests that most people fall off the fitness wagon because they lack interest and enjoyment in their activity. This is just another great way to get fit, change things up and challenge your current fitness level, and prepare your body to stay active on vacation.

Shelly Greenfield is a certified fitness trainer and writes a weekly fitness column for the Post-Bulletin. If you have an idea for a fitness story, contact her at shelly@shellygfitness.com

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Fitness Matters: Paddle boarding is the newest fitness craze

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